Portal:Western Australia/Selected article/February 2008

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Banksia brownii is a species of shrub that occurs in southwest Western Australia. An attractive plant with fine feathery leaves and large red-brown flower spikes, it usually grows as an upright bush around two metres (7 ft) high, but can also occur as a small tree or a low spreading shrub. First collected in 1829 and published the following year, it is placed in Banksia subg. Banksia, section Oncostylis, series Spicigerae. It occurs naturally only in two population clusters, between Albany and the Stirling Range. In the Stirling Range it occurs among heath on rocky mountain slopes; further south it occurs among Jarrah woodland in shallow nutrient-poor sand. It is rare and endangered in its natural habitat, with all known populations currently threatened by Phytophthora cinnamomi dieback, a disease to which the species is highly susceptible. Other threats include loss of habitat, commercial exploitation and changes to the fire regime. B. brownii is highly valued by Australia's horticultural and cut flower industries.